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Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol. 38, No. 3, 141-156 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0961000606066575

Health information: does quality count for the consumer?

How consumers evaluate the quality of health information materials across a variety of media

Lyndsay A. Marshall

Department of Information Management Aberdeen Business School The Robert Gordon University Garthdee Road Aberdeen AB10 7QE, marshall.lyndsay{at}btinternet.com

Dorothy Williams

Department of Information Management Aberdeen Business School The Robert Gordon University Garthdee Road Aberdeen AB10 7QE, d.williams{at}rgu.ac.uk

An aspect of the information literacy of health information consumers is explored, in particular whether and how they evaluate the quality of health information on the Internet and in printed formats. A total of 32 members of patient support groups in North-East Scotland were recruited to take part in information review groups (a variation of focus group methodology) where discussion focused on a set of health information materials. Data analysis revealed 15 ways in which the participants evaluated quality. The two most important indicators of quality were organizational authority and the use of plain language. They did not find many of the indicators of evidence-based information. Participants demonstrated lack of confidence about their ability to select quality health information and relied on preselection by authoritative sources (libraries, support groups, health professionals) and distrusted the Internet.

Key Words: consumer health information • evaluation • focus groups • information literacy


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